Summer Programs

army2021

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Jan 4, 2015
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Hi everyone. I am a sophmore in high school and am working toward trying to recieve admission to the naval academy. I am in JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, multiple sports and clubs, and have good grades (and they are contiunally going upward). I applied to the STEM program at the Naval Academy the day the application went up. Hoping to be admitted to that. If that doesn't work out I will be attending a SLS at the Citadel that week through JROTC. Later in the summer I will also be attending another SLS through JROTC at Smith Mountain Lake. I plan on also applying to the Marine Corps Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy whenever the application come out, tho I do not know if I will be accepted to that either. From what I've heard from other midshipmen, summer leadership seminars and other military summer programs can help out alot with admissions and somewhat increase chances of one day being accepted. I constantly surf the web trying to find different programs but they are hard to find. I was wondering if anyone knew of any they would recommend applying. Also, if anyone has ANYTHING at all they would recommend to help out or any types of clubs, extracurriculars, etc. that they'd recommend joining that'd be a huge helped. Thank you for all your time. All responses are greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a nice day!
 
The first thing you can do is stop listening to Midshipmen telling you how to get in. They did not see their interviews, they did not attend the Admissions Board session, and they did not sit in the Admissions office when the decision was made. They are clueless as to what the Academy saw in them and that includes Firsties as well as Plebes. Asking them for advice is like going to someone who just got a bucket of water dumped on them and asking for swimming lessons. What they can tell you is what their personal experience has been at the Academy but as far as admissions......forget it. If you go to the Academy website and read carefully you will learn that the summer seminars are for your benefit---not the Academy's. They are for you to taste a bit of the Academy and help you (not the Academy) decide if the place is for you. Same to a lesser degree with STEM sessions although those are a bit more of a recruitment effort. In either case it is NOT a factor in you receiving an appointment. Literally tens of thousands of midshipmen have presented themselves at the gate for I-Day and they have had zero contact up to that point with the military.

As far as other military summer sessions at various schools, that's nice if you want to go and it is a VERY small point that shows you are interested in the military but beyond that, it is not much concern to your BGO or the Academy. A summer job showing responsibility would be a lot more valuable to you. Since you are looking for sound and accurate advice (that's good) buy and read the book "The Naval Academy Candidate Book" by Ross and just about all your above questions will be answered. Be sure and get the one by Ross. There are others that are available on Amazon and not worth the money. Good luck and you are smart to start early.
 
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Hi everyone. I am a sophmore in high school and am working toward trying to recieve admission to the naval academy. I am in JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, multiple sports and clubs, and have good grades (and they are contiunally going upward). I applied to the STEM program at the Naval Academy the day the application went up. Hoping to be admitted to that. If that doesn't work out I will be attending a SLS at the Citadel that week through JROTC. Later in the summer I will also be attending another SLS through JROTC at Smith Mountain Lake. I plan on also applying to the Marine Corps Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy whenever the application come out, tho I do not know if I will be accepted to that either. From what I've heard from other midshipmen, summer leadership seminars and other military summer programs can help out alot with admissions and somewhat increase chances of one day being accepted. I constantly surf the web trying to find different programs but they are hard to find. I was wondering if anyone knew of any they would recommend applying. Also, if anyone has ANYTHING at all they would recommend to help out or any types of clubs, extracurriculars, etc. that they'd recommend joining that'd be a huge helped. Thank you for all your time. All responses are greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a nice day!

Excellent questions! I so wish we had known about this forum when my DS was a sophomore. Add Boy/Girl State to your resume too!
 
My bad. The Academy website no longer clarifies that attendance at NASS is not a factor in the appointment process, however, that is what is taught at the summer BGO classes.
 
I keep hearing that it isn't a factor, and I know there are plenty of examples of candidates that are admitted that did not get accepted to NASS, but then I also keep hearing about Appointees, whose congratulatory letter has a hand written note about how awesome they did at NASS! So, apparently, if you do go, they are watching you, and the evaluations matter.
 
Thank you very much. Actually just recently bought the book. Is there any specific jobs thatd kind of be more impressive to the academy? My fathers friend owns an auto shop and i believe id be able to work their as a helper mechanic this summer. Also am volunteering at my states war memorial and will be getting many hours there as well. Is there any jobs thatd be more impressive on a resume. Thx very much


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Thank you very much. Actually just recently bought the book. Is there any specific jobs thatd kind of be more impressive to the academy? My fathers friend owns an auto shop and i believe id be able to work their as a helper mechanic this summer. Also am volunteering at my states war memorial and will be getting many hours there as well. Is there any jobs thatd be more impressive on a resume. Thx very much


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A job AT ALL would be impressive on a resume! Work and they'll notice! Good luck
 
I keep hearing that it isn't a factor, and I know there are plenty of examples of candidates that are admitted that did not get accepted to NASS, but then I also keep hearing about Appointees, whose congratulatory letter has a hand written note about how awesome they did at NASS! So, apparently, if you do go, they are watching you, and the evaluations matter.
You will hear both sides of the debate on this question. The fact is, my DS's NASS squad leader did write a report on him at the end of his week. My thought is, if they aren't 'looking' at you, why bother with the report? For what it's worth...
 
My DD was a NASS Squad leader, and tasked with writing the evals. She took them pretty seriously and had the impression they mattered.
 
I'm a junior. I just applied to NASS last week. From my conversations with multiple BGOs and Admissions Counselors from the Academy, they are impressed when I tell them I lifeguard and run XC/Track. But it all depends on how you word it.

Because I don't think I did anything that deserves recognition my dad always ends up telling this: I was in a situation lifeguarding in rough, cold water I'm the Gulf of Mexico during a triathlon when an athlete had a heart attack. The rescue was by the book and highly praised by the supervisor. Unfortunately the man didn't make that. It shows that I can adequately perform under pressure (no where near the extremes of the heroes in the military), and to show how I overcame the adversity of dealing with an event like that as a teenager. I also went out and looked for an official lifeguarding job after.That's a very abbreviated explanation of what happened and I personally a year later don't think I did anything special and don't like taking advantage of the tragedy.

The running will be helpful if you are admitted.

Please note I don't wish this experience upon anyone.


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Mini Multiple
The Mini Multiple is calculated to help evaluate candidates. The Mini Multiple is calculated for a prospective midshipman by querying and evaluating many items, including pre USNA education attendances. Specifically included to be added to the mini multiple is USNA STEM and Summer Seminar.


BTW Other points include but are not limited to:
  • Candidates with an outstanding rating in the BGO Interview Overall Evaluation
  • Candidates who are legacies, meaning candidates who had a parent or sibling attend a service academy
  • Candidates who graduated from a high school where at least 65% or more of the students continue their education at a four year college. This percentage is provided on the Request for Secondary School Transcript (RSST ) scanner form.)
 
Also please remember to do what you LIKE to do. Entry to an SA is not a given and you will probably be looking at other schools. Do what interests you, what you think will help you OVERALL (not just for SA's) and show responsibility. My son was recently appointed and he knew before his Freshman year of HS. However, he knew it wasn't a guaranty so he did a broad range of things, some at USNA (STEM, Soccer camp and NASS) and some not (Engineering seminar, HOBY, Boys State). He played a Varsity sport and was captain. He had several jobs. He participates in triathlons for fun. However, other kids I know that were accepted never held a job but played three Varsity sports. Another never played a Varsity sport. My point is that there isn't ONE type of activity that will guaranty you an appointment. Be yourself, think about what you like and if it will be positive thing on your resume. And remember that if you don't get into an SA you will be going somewhere else and you want your resume to tell YOUR story, not a story about how you did everything just to get into an SA. Good luck! Have fun whatever you do in HS!
 
I'm a junior. I just applied to NASS last week. From my conversations with multiple BGOs and Admissions Counselors from the Academy, they are impressed when I tell them I lifeguard and run XC/Track. But it all depends on how you word it.

Because I don't think I did anything that deserves recognition my dad always ends up telling this: I was in a situation lifeguarding in rough, cold water I'm the Gulf of Mexico during a triathlon when an athlete had a heart attack. The rescue was by the book and highly praised by the supervisor. Unfortunately the man didn't make that. It shows that I can adequately perform under pressure (no where near the extremes of the heroes in the military), and to show how I overcame the adversity of dealing with an event like that as a teenager. I also went out and looked for an official lifeguarding job after.That's a very abbreviated explanation of what happened and I personally a year later don't think I did anything special and don't like taking advantage of the tragedy.

The running will be helpful if you are admitted.

Please note I don't wish this experience upon anyone.


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Wow! I was in that triathlon! Good for you kiddo! Well done :0)
 
Mini Multiple
The Mini Multiple is calculated to help evaluate candidates. The Mini Multiple is calculated for a prospective midshipman by querying and evaluating many items, including pre USNA education attendances. Specifically included to be added to the mini multiple is USNA STEM and Summer Seminar.


BTW Other points include but are not limited to:
  • Candidates with an outstanding rating in the BGO Interview Overall Evaluation
  • Candidates who are legacies, meaning candidates who had a parent or sibling attend a service academy
  • Candidates who graduated from a high school where at least 65% or more of the students continue their education at a four year college. This percentage is provided on the Request for Secondary School Transcript (RSST ) scanner form.)
I'm excited to read this post! Can you please tell us more about this 'mini multiple'? What is it and what does the 'mini' part mean? My DS has everyone of the categories you list above. Hope that helps him?
 
Little things I've learned through my and my friends experiences in JROTC and transitioning into colleges.

DO NOT waste your time at Eagle Challenge at Smith Mountain Lake. I went last year and it was a mess and nothing was gained from the experience. The camp was a complete mess, the schedule wasn't followed at all and all week we were under fed and were functioning on about five hours of sleep a night. The program is essentially a 4-H camp with drill for a few hours in the afternoon. In addition my school's Vice Commander was suppose to the Wing Commander but last minute the Colonel who runs the camp decided to put his daughter in place instead and she was unable to maintain control of the SLS. Cadre were late more often than cadets and were reprimanded at the end of the week for extreme hazing. I have more criticism to add but I'll refrain because it's inappropriate.

As for in school, I have several friends from my AFJROTC unit whom graduated last year, two received West Point acceptances, one Air Force Academy, one Annapolis, and one Coast Guard Academy. We've all came to the conclusion sophomore year is when you want to start focusing on two or three sports/extra curricular activities you really enjoy. Academies want to see people very focused with a clear plan in mind. Spud, in the comments above made an excellent point a part time job shows that focus and even more importantly it shows reliability.

Also a side note on NASS, I know a lot less about this, but in general with similar programs their more about networking and building connections. Because it gets administrations attention when they know someone who's writing the recommendation, they value that more than most other factors. With that I encourage you to start focusing on getting your congressional nomination.

Hope I helped.
 
Anyone having trouble getting to the SLCDA Facebook page?
Visited it a number of times but now it is MIA ( or seems that way).
 
Anyone having trouble getting to the SLCDA Facebook page?
Visited it a number of times but now it is MIA ( or seems that way).
Try searching on your Facebook page under: USMC Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy.
It came up for me when I searched..... By the way, my DD was chosen for the 2014 session and absolutely loved it!
 
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